How To Create and Manage Group Messages on iPhone or iPad?

Want to create a group iMessage? Check How To Create and Manage Group Messages on iPhone.

Texting is used for a large percentage of our discussions with friends, family, and even coworkers these days. It's a quick and easy way to communicate that's perfect for our hectic lives.

Keeping in touch has never been easier with the iPhone's Messages software - and, by extension, their iMessage function.

It is possible to make an iPhone group chat with numerous participants if you want to communicate with more than one person at a time, whether to schedule a get-together with your pals or to ask your coworkers if anyone can cover your shift.

Group communications allow you to communicate with a group of individuals (3 or more) at the same time. This might be an excellent method to remain in touch with friends and family. Text messages, videos, and photographs can be sent and received by group members using group messaging.

This article describes how to:

Create group messaging
Name your group
Add or remove users as participants
Exiting the group
Changing group names
Organizing the messages

How To Create and Manage Group Messages on iPhone or iPad

Types of group text messages

There are three types of group messages on iOS: group iMessage, group MMS, and group SMSs. Based on settings, network connectivity, and carrier plan, the Messages app automatically selects the type of group message to send. For instance:

The group message is sent as an iMessage if both you and your recipients are using Apple devices and iMessage is enabled.
A group message is transmitted as an MMS or SMS message when it is sent to recipients who do not use iMessage.

Group iMessage

iPhone showing a group text iMessage with five people.

These messages show up as blue text bubbles. They are encrypted end to end and sent through Apple rather than your carrier. Everyone in an iMessage group can:

Send and receive images, videos, and voice texts.
View group member's messages here
Send and receive message effects, including animations, bubbles, and more.
Share a location update
Add or delete members of the group, turn off notifications, rename the group, or quit it.

Group MMS

iPhone showing a group text MMS message with six people.

These communications are delivered through your carrier rather than Apple and include green text bubbles. Each person in a group MMS can:

Photos and videos sent to the group.
View responses in the group.
View every comment made in the group.

Group SMS

Additionally, these communications come through your carrier and are shown in green text bubbles. Multimedia files like images or videos cannot be included in group SMS messages. The recipients of a group SMS cannot view the other responses since each response is sent as a separate text message.

MMS Groups vs. iMessage Groups

There is a significant distinction between iMessage and MMS Groups. These two aspects may be perplexing to others, but here's what you should know.

If all members of a group use iOS devices (iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch), all communications will be sent as iMessages. They will be transmitted as an MMS if at least one member of the group is using an Android handset or another type of mobile device. Here are some of the differences between them:

How To Create and Manage Group Messages on iPhone

If the message is enclosed in a blue bubble, it is an MMS message. If the message is surrounded by a green bubble, it is an iMessage.
You won't be able to name your group with MMS. When it comes to iMessage, however, you may give it any name you wish.
Participants in MMS cannot be added or withdrawn. You can remove or add participants to your heart's content in the case of iMessage.

How to Create Group Text Messages

On your iOS device, launch the Messages app.
Tap the new message icon to begin composing a new message.
Enter the names of the contacts in the To: field (your group members). To add contacts, hit the plus sign.
Fill up the Text Message area with your message.
Then, tap the transmit arrow symbol.

How to Add and Remove Group Members

MMS groups, as previously indicated, cannot be added or removed. As a result, if you don't see the "Add Contact" or "Remove" options, it's because of this. If your group is an iMessage group, everyone in the group can add or delete members. There is no administrator or other form of the superuser. Here's how to do it:

Adding people:

To include more people:

To begin the chat, use the Group messages button.
Under Group settings, Tap the top of the messages displaying the group members or the name (if you have already named it)
Select the info icon.
Then select Add Contact to add contacts.
Then, in the Add: field, enter a new member's name.

Removing Participants:

Tap the group messages button again, followed by the info I symbol.
Find the person you want to delete and swipe left; keep in mind that you must have at least three members.
Tap the red-colored button called Remove.

How to Create Group Names

You can give your organization a name. This is especially important if you have many iMessage groups. As previously stated, MMS groups cannot be named. Here's how to do it:

Access the group messages.
Select the info icon.
In the Name field, type the name of your group.

How to Send a group text message

Step 1 Open the Messages app and tap on the Compose button.

Step 2 Enter the names or tap the Add button to add people from your contacts.

Step 3 Type your message, then tap the Send button.

Make sure MMS Messaging is enabled on your iPhone before sending a group MMS message. Turn on MMS Messaging by going to Settings > Messages. Contact your carrier to find out if your plan enables Group MMS Messaging if you don't see an option to enable MMS Messaging or Group Messaging.

Photos, links, and other files received in group messages will now show up in the Shared with You section of the corresponding content apps on iOS 15 and iPadOS 15. Go to the group message, tap the top of the thread, and then toggle off Show in Shared with You if you don't want to see the pictures and other content that has been shared with you.

How to Mention people in a group conversation

To draw someone's attention to a particular message, you can mention them by name in a group message, and they will receive a notification (as long as everyone in the group has an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac and has turned on iMessage).

Even if the discussion is muted, people may still receive notifications depending on their preferences.

Step 1 Start typing a contact's name in the text area.

Step 2 When the contact's name appears, tap on it.

Step 3 In Messages, you may also mention a contact by putting @ before their name.

Step 4 Go to Settings > Messages > Notify Me to customize your own notification choices for when you are mentioned in a message.

How to exit a group

You don't want to be a part of your group and want to leave? This will restrict you from receiving and sending messages, as well as other items such as images, and from participating in group messages.

It is important to note that MMS communications cannot be terminated.

Here's how to do it:

Open the group messages again and press the symbol.
Scroll down and select the red button called the "Leave this Conversation" button.

You can exit an iMessage by doing the following:

Simply tap where you want to leave the iMessage.
Tap the I or info icon.
Scroll to the bottom.
Select the Leave Conversation option.

If the group is active, you can also silence the notifications so you are not constantly interrupted. When you have time, you can always go back and read the messages. If you find yourself receiving too many alerts, the mute button can come in handy. You are not required to always quit a group because an essential message may be sent out and you may be left out.

Organizing your messages

If you have multiple group chats, each with multiple members, you'll need to know how to manage all of those notifications. Don't worry, it's easy.

Reduce background noise by muting the conversation.

It's not always the best time to communicate, and you want to be able to return to the conversation later without being distracted by pings. Here's how it works:

Start Messages.
Swipe left on the group chat you want to mute.
Hide Alerts should be selected.

Disable all notifications.

Not only should you mute notifications, but you should also disable them entirely. Use this tool if you're having trouble keeping up with your group texts but aren't ready to abandon the chat just yet. Keep in mind that your preferences will apply to all of your group messages.

Select Off in Settings > Notifications > Messages > Notification Grouping.

Take your conversations to the computer.

A full-size keyboard makes it much simpler to keep up with a fast-paced conversation, and it's straightforward to set up.

On a Mac, open the Messages app. Sign in using the same Apple ID that you use to access your iPhone.

Select Preferences > iMessage from the drop-down menu.

Enable Messages in iCloud by checking the box. Your iMessages, SMS, and MMS communications will now sync automatically.

How to Set up a Photo for Group Messages

Before you begin, ensure that your device is running iOS 14/iPadOS 14 or later, as this functionality is not available on earlier versions.

Launch the stock "Messages" app from your iPhone or iPad's home screen.
Open the group conversation for which you want to add a custom image, then tap on the group name or person count, as shown below.
To begin, tap on the "Change Name and Photo" option situated directly below the group's name.
You can set any picture from your Photos collection as a group photo by tapping on the photo icon here. Alternatively, you can select any of the available stock photos. To go to the following stage, select the image you wish to utilize.
In this option, you can select a style for the photo you've chosen. When you're finished customizing, click "Done."
Now, press on "Done" in the top-right corner of the menu once again, and you're done.

That's about all there is to it. You've successfully added a custom image to your iMessage group conversation on your iPhone and iPad.

How To Create and Manage Group Messages on iPhone or iPad - Conclusion

To quote Porky Pig from Looney Tunes, “That's All Folks!”. By now you have learned the ABCs of managing the group chats on iPhones and iPads from our How To Create and Manage Group Messages on iPhone or iPad guide.

With the powerful capabilities of the iPhone and iPad group chatting, people can share images, and text documents with each other in their respective groups.

Also with unique images, you can instantly recognize a certain group while going through all of your interactions in the stock Messages app. If you can’t locate a good picture for your group, you can set emojis or emojis as the group photo using the above techniques as well.

Although we focused on iPhones and iPads in this article, Mac users will be happy to know that you can set iMessage group images from your Mac as well, as long as it's running macOS Big Sur or later.

Group Text with Android Users

Instead of using group iMessages, SMS/MMS is used when texting with an Android user in a group. However, it is still feasible to form a group that includes both Android and iPhone users.

How To Create and Manage Group Messages on iPhone or iPad

However, as long as an Android user is a part of the group, it is not feasible to add or remove members or to exit the chat once it has been started. If a member is absent from your discussion, you must start a new SMS/MMS thread and send out invitations to everyone at once.

Also Read: